


Secret Seahorse

by mythomusicians



Series: Side Mythos [7]
Category: Bandom, Magic Man - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Demigods, Gen, Kid Fic, Transformation Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-01-19 12:05:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12410010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythomusicians/pseuds/mythomusicians
Summary: "You sure you want him?" Alex's mom asks and the little boy nods enthusiastically."He looks so lonely, mom," Alex says, staring into the small fish tank at the seahorse, all alone curled up around a small coral. "He's just a little baby. He needs a family."-----Listen, I know. This is probably the biggest reach for our series of Actual Truths. But hear us out. Once the thought popped into our heads one night at Denny's, it stuck. There was no other option. This is the very real story about Alex Caplow and Sam Lee.





	1. Chapter 1

"You sure you want him?" Alex's mom asks and the little boy nods enthusiastically.    


"He looks so lonely, mom," Alex says, staring into the small fish tank at the seahorse, all alone curled up around a small coral. "He's just a little baby. He needs a family."

"A seahorse isn't exactly the most practical of pets." His mother insists. But she knows that once Al's made a decision it isn't exactly easy to get him to change his mind. "But if you want it, we'll get him." She smiles at him and ruffles up his hair before going to find someone about purchasing it for her son. It's hard to say no to him anyway.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Al beams at his mom, fixing his hair as he waits by the tank. He even has a salt water tank all set up and ready in his room! "You're gonna have a good life, buddy," he says to the seahorse. "So good," he smiles at it.

The seahorse seems rather indifferent, as most do. He hangs out around the coral in the corner of the tank as Al keeps eagerly staring at him. He's gonna make sure this seahorse has a great life.    
His mother comes back with a shopkeeper and the man asks Al if he's prepared to take care of an 'exotic pet', which of course the young boy assure him he is. The shopkeeper smiles, instantly won over by his charm and goes to get everything together to get the seahorse to a new home.

The little fish surprisingly doesn't offer much by way of trying to escape being caught up, and pretty soon he's in his little bag on his way to his new home.    
"What are you gonna name him?" Al's mom asks, glancing at her son smiling at the fish in the backseat.    
"I dunno yet. Maybe he'll tell me." Al says quietly, simply, as though the seahorse was going to talk to him. Kids.

"Just be careful with him." His mother advises.    
"I'm always careful!" Al insists with a big smile at her, then back to the little seahorse. The response elicits a laugh from his mom as they make their way on back home.    
Once they make it back, Al rushes over to the larger saltwater tank to let his new friend have room to look around and explore his new surroundings. He knows he has to let the water temperatures adjust and all, he did his research at the library. But waiting is so hard! He goes and watches cartoons for a little while before coming back eagerly and watching the curious timid seahorse. He opens the baggie up and lets the fish swim out on its own. "We're gonna be best friends, I just know it," he says quietly to the tank.

The seahorse seems to be relatively happy with the larger tank, swimming around a bit more than just staying in one corner. He's still a bit cautious, but it's more room, more actually real foliage compared to the plastic stuff that was in the store. The new setting helps the seahorse seem to relax, as much as a seahorse can.

 

 

Over the next few days, Al doesn't tire of watching the seahorse as he does his little seahorse thing. After a few weeks though, he sighs a bit. "Still need a name for you," he says quietly, nose pressed to the glass. "Gotta find out how to ask you."

The seahorse is definitely more accustomed to his new surroundings, deciding he likes this place much better than the place he was before. Even if there's a somewhat scary thing against the wall sometimes, it doesn't seem to be dangerous.    
As Al keeps watching the seahorse swim around, he's struck with an idea. Surely his dad has something that can help right? It's been a while since he visited, but maybe there was something he left behind? Or some sort of like magic spell of sorts??

He wishes his dad had a phone number or something he could call, but his best shot is just going through his things that he's given him. He gets his little box out from under his bed and starts rummaging through it, looking for anything that could help.

There's little magical toys from when he was younger. Things that would talk and move on their own without the need of electronics. But none of that helps. After a while of digging around though, he comes across a ring and holds it up curiously. This could work. His father had given this to him when he kept asking what it was like to be a bird. To be a cat. To be anything, really. Maybe he can give it to the seahorse so he can have a conversation with him!

He climbs onto his bed and stands above the tank, peering down into the water. It's much harder seeing his seahorse from this angle, but he knows what he was grabbing onto before. He takes the ring in his hand and reaches into the water, plan in place.

The seahorse keeps away from the intrusion, self-preservation definitely more important than his curiosity right now. After a while though, his curiosity wins and he swims towards the shiny object and the hand, remaining cautious and ready to swim away at any sort of movement.

Al makes very sure to keep his hand still, he doesn't want to spook him away. That would stink. After a bit of swimming around his hand, the seahorse decides it looks like a nice place to rest, curling his tail around the ring!!

Nothing really happens at first, and Al is worried that maybe he grabbed the wrong ring or something. But after a moment, he starts to see a change and he quickly pulls the seahorse out of the water so the tank won't break or he'll end up drowning or something. On Al's bed now, instead of a seahorse, is a kid about his age. Al grins at his success and throws a blanket over him to cover him up, and dry him off a bit. He needs to have his blankets washed anyway.

The boy frowns and starts shaking, no idea what's going on. He was just in the water, wasn't he? Is that his home? He looks at the tank, and it looks so tiny to him now. He makes a vague sound of confusion, kinda really scared right now. But the being in front of him looks an awful lot like the big scary thing he sees against the wall sometimes, only not as big now.    
"Hi," Al says quietly as the kid wraps himself up tighter in the blanket instinctively. "You can understand me, right?" He really hopes so. He knows he could talk to the neighborhood cat when he used the ring once, so hopefully this boy will be able to understand English?

"I..." He manages to start, flinching away when Al extends a hand out to him. He doesn't seem hostile. He seems safe. Scary, but safe. "What.." He isn't exactly sure how to start. What happened? How is he speaking? And understanding what this other thing is saying to him?

"I'm Al," he says, taking his hand back. Seahorses don't know human things, he remembers. "I take care of you every day." He smiles at him. "Like, food and keeping your water clean and salty just the way you like it, and making sure you have plants and stuff to grab, and- and you're my pet, really, but I'd rather be friends."

"Friends?" He asks after a minute of trying to take in his new surroundings. This definitely isn't the water he's used to. But this is the thing that maintained his home. So it's gotta be safe. "Friends.." He says again, not totally sure what that word means. It sounds nice, but it doesn't sound like anything he had with other seahorses.

"I know seahorses aren't super social, but people are.. I'm a person. Right now, uh, you're a person too. A human," Al says, cautiously sitting next to him on his bed. "'Cause of magic."    
The boy shuffles away just a little, ever cautious, but relaxes when Al doesn't seem to be threatening him. He's still safe. Good.

"Okay.." He manages after a minute of silence. "Why?" He asks. Why is he no longer a seahorse? Why did he want him to be like him because of magic?

"Well.." Al frowns a little. "You need a name. I didn't wanna name you something if you've already got a name," he says, lips turning upwards into a small smile again. "And you looked lonely. I'm kinda lonely, too."

"A name..." He gives it thought. He doesn't have a name. He's just a seahorse. He was never given one. Shaking his head at that, he decides to loosen his grip a bit on the blanket to look at himself. He definitely isn't a seahorse. So much bigger. Different. Lots of limbs. Like an octopus or something.

"You need clothes!" Al says suddenly. "And a towel! I'll go grab a towel!" He stands and bolts to the bathroom to get one, coming back with two instead, handing the boy the first one. "You gotta get dry or the clothes won't feel comfortable," he tells him, setting the second towel next to him before going and rummaging through his clothes for something that might fit him.

He nods and grabs the towels, figuring they're used for water if he's being given it. He manages to get the hang of it pretty quickly, getting most of the water off himself, but his hair is still a bit damp. Hair. That's different. There's a lot of different here.

"Here," Al comes over with some clean underwear, pajama pants, and a t-shirt. "Need help putting them on? Everything okay?" He asks. Human or not, he's still his caretaker right now. He's sure he's got lots of questions and stuff.

He looks Al over, realizing now that it isn't just his skin that's like that. It's the fabric he wears. Why is he wearing it? It doesn't make much sense to him, but apparently it's important that he does the same. He takes the clothes from Al, looking him over again before figuring how how to get them on.

"The shorts go on underneath," Al tells him. "Then the pants and then the shirt. Um, humans wear clothes. We don't like being all naked. And we get cold," he grins wide at him. "That's why we got blankets, too. I don't want you to be cold." He lets his friend get himself dressed, watching as he figures out how his human limbs work and all that stuff. The standing part takes him a minute to get, but he does get it. Feet are weird, man.

He does stumble a few times, but Al is there to catch him and steady him until he gets the hang of it a bit more.    
"You're... An Al?" He asks, remembering what he had said earlier. "A human?" All of these words don't make sense to him. But at the same time they do.

"My name is Alexander, but people call me Al," he clarifies. "Human's like... The species. You're normally a seahorse, but right now you're a human. You don't have a name?" He'll have to help him find one he likes if he doesn't have one.

He shakes his head again. "I don't. Should I?" He still isn't exactly sure why Al wanted him to be a human like him. Lonely, he'd said. Being alone. He was alone before Al brought him in from that small tank. He still feels rather alone. Is this supposed to help?

"Well I gotta call you somethin'," Alex laughs a little and takes his wrist to tug him gently back to sit on the bed with him. "'Specially if we're gonna be friends. Unless- unless you don't wanna be friends. I read in the book at the library that you guys are solitary. But having one friend can't hurt, right?"

"Friends sounds nice." He says. Being close with the one who take care of him? He'd be fine with that. That's what friends are right? Close? To prevent loneliness?

Alex smiles. A friend. A new friend, maybe a best friend? "We gotta find a name for you then." He thinks a bit. "How about... Charlie? Or Nathan?" He honestly can't think of a ton of names of the top of his head.

He makes a face at hearing those names. He doesn't really like the sound of them. "Something short." He suggests. Al is a good name. Short and to the point.

"Uhhh..." Al scrunches his face as he thinks. "Whabbout.. Dan? Oo! Or Sam??" Sam is a cool name, honestly. "Like Samuel, but short!"

He thinks for a moment then nods. Sam seems like a good name. He could get behind that. "Yeah,  I like that one." He says with a small smile.

"Sam." Al says with a finalizing nod. "I would ask how old you are but I doubt seahorses keep track of stuff like that," he laughs a bit. "Um. If you wanna go back to your seahorse self at any point in time, I think you just gotta take off the ring on your finger."

Sam looks at the ring curiously. "You said magic?" He asks. "How does it work?" He decides against taking it off since he isn't in water right now and doesn't plan on dying.

"Um, so most humans aren't like me," Al says, kicking his feet a little and looking away. "I'm kinda.. Kinda half human. My real dad's name is Eros, he's a god. So, when I was little he gave me this ring cause I was always asking what it was like to be different animals n stuff." He sighs just a little. "I think he just wanted me to stop asking, but," he shrugs.

"Half human?" Sam questions. That's definitely strange. He wishes he knew more about human culture. This is all so new to him, he isn't sure at all how to react to anything. He isn't sure what's normal and what isn't. But now he has a name. Sam has a name. It makes him feel a bit more important than just a small seahorse in a tank.

"Y-yeah. People don't really know magic is real or- or that my dad exists. Just me and my mom and her husband. I call him dad, but he's not my actual dad. And now you, I guess." Al laughs quietly. He's never confided in anyone up to this point. Mom always told him not to tell anyone, but Sam isn't a real human, so he can tell him, he reasons. "I'm a demigod."

"A what?" Somehow Sam thinks that isn't exactly a normal thing. Half of a god? He isn't sure how he should be reacting. Should he be, like, bowing down? Honored for friendship with him?

"Just like, a magical human? I think? I dunno," Al shrugs. "I can use magic a lil bit but I'm nothin' special." Eros barely even pays attention to him, ever. He has a ton of kids, after all. Being the god of love and everything.

"Magical human and a seahorse. Friends?" Sam finds himself laughing, relaxing a bit. Al doesn't seem bad. This human thing is still super surreal to him, but it isn't bad, he supposes. Definitely beats swimming around in the same area for days and days.

"Friends." Al smiles at him. "What do you think of being human? Do you hate it?" He laughs a little. He can't imagine someone hating being human, really. He thinks it's way cooler than swimming in a small tank.

"No real strong opinion." He admits. "It's different. Still have to get used to it." Sam stretches out his new limbs, looking at them. "I'm so big." He laughs a bit, glancing over to the tank he was in.

"Huge!" Al says. "At least compared to before. You're a cute seahorse though!" He brings an arm around his new friend. "When I saw you in the pet store all alone I just knew I had to bring you home," he says quietly.

Sam laughs a bit again, finding contact rather comforting rather than scary. Al doesn't seem to be scary whatsoever even if he is half human or whatever. "I'm just an average seahorse." He says. "Why me?"

"You seemed cool," Alex says. "Dunno. Just trusted my gut. I wanna show you some cool human stuff! You gotta have food!" He hops off the bed. "Wait here!" He runs out to get some snacks from downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

As Al leaves him, Sam decides on getting up and exploring a bit around his room. There are so many strange things that he's only seen from within the tank. A shelf with books. He grabs one off the shelf and looks through it, putting it away shortly after because he's totally overwhelmed by all the words. It's still amazing to him he can understand this language. He could probably get used to this.

Al bursts back into the room, making Sam jump a bit. "Oh, sorry, forgot," he says sheepishly. "Here, I got uh, some Oreos and some cheese puffs, and a glass of koolaid? I hope you like cherry," he sets the glass down first and puts the food on his bed, opening both.

"I don't know what I like." Sam says, grabbing the glass first. He's seen Al drink this stuff. He has no clue how it is supposed to taste, but he takes a drink of it. It's not that bad really. He sets it back down and goes to try the thing he called Oreos.

"These are all like, the unhealthy stuff," Al giggles. "Hope it doesn't mess with your seahorse stomach." He is genuinely a little worried about what'll happen when he takes the ring off. But he's pretty sure he'll be okay.  _ “Magic is smart,” _ Eros always told him.

Sam takes a bite of the cookie, and wow it's nothing like he's ever had before. It tastes amazing. Humans have such better food compared to the stuff he's used to eating. "Iwt's gwod!" Sam exclaims, mouth full as he grabs another cookie.

Al laughs and takes a cookie for himself. "Everyone likes these," he says as he shoves it into his mouth. "I fink yew'll like bein' humam," he tells him and sits on the floor.

Sam gives a nod as he continues on the cookie. So far it's a lot more interesting than his life has been as a seahorse. He has a friend now. Someone that he can communicate with who likes him. It's nice. He really likes it.

"Um, but I don't think we should tell my mom yet," Alex says and looks down at his lap. "She'd probably get mad at me and make me change you back... And then take away the ring.." She threatened to take it away once before, when he would be a bird and fly around the house all the time when he was 6. She didn't like that very much.

Sam nods again, grabbing the drink. "Thanks for this." He says before taking a sip. "It  _ is _ better than just swimming in the same spot, yknow?" He isn't sure why Al chose him, but he definitely won't complain about it.

Al nods in agreement. "If you ever want company in your tank, I could wear the ring instead," he offers. "But I don't know what'll happen to you when you take it off," he admits. "Like, I don't want you to forget anything cause your brain changes again and- and I don't wanna be friendless again.. But I can't just make you stay human, either."

"I like it." He says, holding his hand out and moving his fingers. "It's interesting. I don't even know how I'm doing all this." He laughs a bit. "I don't even know what that is. Or really what I'm saying. It's confusing but it all makes sense at the same time."

"Magic is pretty cool," Al tells him. "And those are your fingers! On your hand. I'll try to make things make more sense to you," he feels responsible for this being, even at such a young age. Yeah, he was totally ready to take care of a seahorse. "You can ask me anything."

"Thanks." He says, setting the drink back down. He can grab things with hands. That's so strange to him. Everything is strange. But if Al is here to help, he figures he can understand it easier.

"Um, here, I wanna show you something," Al stands and heads over to his radio. He looks through a stack of cassettes before deciding on one and pops it in the player, hitting play. "It's music. I really like music."

Sam looks at it curiously, wondering what exactly it is before he hears something coming from the machine. Whatever it is, it sounds nice. Relaxing. "Music.." He repeats, looking at the machine in a sort of wonder.

"They don't have this underwater," Al says with a quiet laugh. "And- and there's all different kinds of music!" He lets the song finish before swapping out tapes and playing a different genre.

Sam watches the machine curiously, trying to figure out how it works before just giving up. It looks super complicated. He'll just accept it for what it is, like most things he's seen so far. "It's nice." He says. It sounds nice. Even if it sounds vastly different than whatever sounds he was playing before.

"Yeah," Alex says, sitting on his bed and letting the tape play. "Music is cool." He lays on his back and just relaxes for a bit, listening. "Sorry, Sam," he says quietly after a few minutes.

"Sorry for what?" Sam asks him. Did he do something wrong? Did Al do something wrong? He makes a face of confusion, not understanding his apology.

"I dunno," Al turns onto his side, facing the wall. "I feel like I shouldn't have done this.." What'll happen to Sam now? Certainly he can't force him to go back to being his pet seahorse in his little tiny boring tank for the rest of his life. But he's barely grasping what being human even is. He doesn't know anything a 12 year old kid should know.

"Why not?" Sam asks curiously, still not understanding why he feels that isn't good. "I like being human." He assures him, kicking his feet on the bed a bit. "It doesn't totally make sense, but I like it." He says. "Don't be sorry, friend." Sam smiles at the demigod.

"But you don't.. You don't have a family and you can't go to school or anything," Al frowns. "You're just.. Suddenly here." He's sure he could get Eros to help him out, if he knew how to get ahold of him. His father isn't a bad guy, just busy and not really a good dad.

"You're here to help." He says, still looking at him curiously. He was able to provide when he was a seahorse. How is this any different? "Don't worry." Sam smiles at him.

Al sighs and sits up, pulling his knees to his chest. "I- I think you should take the ring off," he says, wincing at his own words. He feels like that's practically a death sentence right now. But he needs to think. He needs to talk to his father somehow. "Just for.. Just for now. I'll let you have it again, soon, I promise.."

Sam's smile falters. "O-oh.." He looks down at the ring. He doesn't want him to be like him? He wants him back to how he was before? Does he not make a good human, he wonders? "Alright. Just-um-make sure you put me back in the tank." He says, sighing as he goes to remove the ring.

"Wait, not yet," Alex kneels forward quickly and grabs his hand so he can't get the ring off. "You gotta hug me first," he tells him. "I just gotta figure things out, and- and I think it's getting dark out. My mom might come inside soon.." He likes Sam. A lot, really. He feels real responsible for him. But if he's going to get Sam a real actual human life, he needs to get help. And the only way he knows he can definitely get to his dad is through his mom.

Sam puts his hand back down and nods. A hug. Okay. That's...?   


Seeing his uncertainty about the term, Al leans forward and wraps his arms around him tight. "A hug." He teaches him, still squeezing him tight. His friend. Even if he's a seahorse.

Sam takes a moment to understand it before shifting so he can wrap his arms around Al, too. He's all warm and dry and it's still super different, but.. He likes it. He grips him a little tighter. There's no such thing as a hug like this in his world. This is kind of awesome.

At feeling Sam hug back, Al is pretty relieved. His new friend isn't mad at him for asking him to go back to what he was. Good. That's good. He keeps hugging him for a while longer, and it takes a bit for him to finally release. "Good?" Al asks him, in question of the hug and if he's ready to go back in the tank.

Sam nods and smiles softly. "Uh, yeah. I think so. You promise, right?" If he's being honest, he doesn't really want to go back so soon. But Al needs to do something and he can't be a human for that right now. He's his friend, he feels like that means he should do what he can to help.

"Promise." He says with a grin. He gives Sam another hug before the ring goes off, and he quickly puts his friend back in the salt water tank. Al keeps an eye on him to be sure he's still good, and after the initial shock of not being in the water, Sam gets used to his seahorse self again and looks at Al through the glass. This is his friend now. By some sort of strange magic, he isn't going to be stuck as a seahorse. Sam blows bubbles at him best he can manage to try and communicate that he's okay.

Al smiles at him from the other side of the glass. Sam. His super cool secret (for now) friend Sam that's actually his pet seahorse. He hopes he'll be okay going back to that form for a little while, after having been human for a few hours. At least he knows he's perfectly safe in there now, right?

Sam goes back to swimming around comfortably, but keeps going back to the glass where he can see the ring sitting nearby. That thing really caused him to look like Al. That's amazing. He sees Al give him a wave before he leaves the room, and Sam decides to rest in the small coral. Not as comfy as the bed was, but he'll make it work.

Al heads downstairs to look for his mom and dad, steeling his nerves to tell them everything if he has to. If he can, he'd like to get away with nothing more than a way to contact his father, keeping Sam a bit of a secret. But if they press for questions he won't lie to them. That would be stupid.

He sees his mom watching tv in the living room, dinner cooking in the oven at the moment, and his father looks like he just got back home from work.    


 

At seeing her son, Al's mom smiles and pats the spot beside her on the couch so he'll join her. "Spent a while in your room. Is your nameless seahorse alright?" She asks him. She knows that he's been doting over the thing since he bought it.

"Yeah," Al says with a grin, sitting next to her and kicking his feet a little. "But he's not nameless anymore, mom."    


"Is that so? Finally decide on one?" She asks curiously, turning the TV down.

"Sam chose it himself." Al smiles.    


"Sam?" His father questions, laughing a bit. "Sam the seahorse?" He goes to sit on the other side of Al. "An interesting choice. How'd you come across learning that?"

"He wanted a short name," Al explains, leaving out the 'turned into a human' bit. "He didn't like the name Nathan."

"Didn't want to shorten it to Nate or something?" His mother asks, smiling in amusement.    


Al just shakes his head, wondering if he should bring up the human thing at all or just ask about his real father's whereabouts. Either topic would probably have not so great consequences.

"He likes Sam," he says again, adamant. "I know, I can tell." Because he told me, he thinks with a smile. It's quiet for a bit until Al speaks up again after taking a deep breath. "Uh, so... I haven't seen my f- Eros in a while," he starts, hoping his mom and dad can pick up where  he left off.

"He hasn't stopped by in a while." His mother muses. His father on the other hand is usually just sort of uncomfortable when Eros is brought up. He doesn't really want to think about his wife having been with a God of love. "Maybe I should check up on him." She says, glancing to Al discretely to see his reaction. She knows he's always curious about his real father, but it's hard to keep him in one place for too long. Other things to do, definitely more kids to take up his time.

"Could, uh, could you..?" Alex says hopefully. "Maybe tell him I have some magic related questions..?" They all know Al is going to get more powerful as he gets older, so it's not unlike him to seek advice from his own father.

"I'll see what I can do, honey." She smiles and kisses his head before getting up to check on the food, and maybe contact Eros.    


His father scooches closer and puts an arm around his shoulders. "Talking about your pet then jumping to that God just like that?" He questions, having the feeling they're related somehow. He might not be his real father, but he knows the tricks of kids.

Al's face turns a little red in embarrassment, knowing he's been at least a little caught. "I just want to show him Sam," he says. "I haven't seen him in a while.."

His father nods, figuring something else is up but deciding against bringing it up further. He'll tell him. He trusts his son, even if he is getting magical powers or something. He isn't exactly sure what it entails. But Al has always been Al, so he doesn't let it bother him.

Al snuggles up to his dad a bit, leaning against him. His dad flicks through the channels before Al asks him to stop on a cartoon he likes and his dad obliges. "Thanks," Al says. "Love you, dad."

"Love you too." He says with a small smile, keeping his son close as he keeps his eyes on the tv. Sometimes the best and most loving families aren't blood related. It doesn't bother him that he married into this. Al is happy with him, and that's more than he expected coming into it.    


Al's mom heads back out from the kitchen. "Dinner'll be done in ten minutes. And we're gonna be having company." She says, smiling at Al.

Al shoots up immediately, eyes wide. "No way! Mom, no way! Eros is coming?" He's so excited. So excited! He can't fully say he loves his father as a son ought to be able to, but he does look up to him a lot. He's always teaching him new and cool tricks he can do with his limited magic in order to "prepare you to woo the masses," as he always put it.

His mom nods. "Only for a little while though." She says. "It was short notice, but he's making time." She smiles.    


Al is excited honestly. It's been a while, and Eros can definitely help him out!   


His father isn't totally thrilled, but he'll make the best of it. He knows he doesn't compare in beauty and power and literally everything compared to a freakin' God.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Al hops off the couch to give his mom a big hug, and she kisses his cheek before letting him go. He returns to his spot next to his dad and leans on him, kicking his feet excitedly.

"Happy?" He asks him, laughing a bit.    


It isn't much longer before his mom calls them out to the kitchen for dinner. When they make it in, they see freakin' Eros already sitting at the dinner table nonchalantly. He gives Al a small wave.

"Dad!" Al jumps a bit and heads over to give him a big hug. It doesn't completely phase him to call both of his dads 'dad,' he knows his step-dad is who he considers to really be his dad. But seeing Eros is always exciting!    


"Hey, short stack," Eros laughs as he hugs his son. "You've grown a ton since I last visited," he notices. It has been quite a long time. "Soon I won't be able to call you that." He does care about him, just as he cares about the rest of his children, but he's busy and he knows they're well looked after. Many of them even have two parents at home raising them, and in some instances he's rarely wanted. But he loves them all, looks after them when he can. Being a god is kind of a busy job.

"And he's only going to get bigger." His mom laughs a bit and sets the table, his dad going to help. He can't help but feel jealous. He usually is when Eros visits. At least his visits aren't usually super long.    


Al sticks his tongue out at his mom. "I'm not gonna stay a kid forever." He tells her.

"I wanna show you something!" Al tugs at Eros' hand. "Before dinner!" He pulls at him until he stands and brings him up to his room, hoping he'll help Sam and not get mad at him and oh boy what if he takes the ring away? What if he gets angry?

He leads Eros to his room, deciding not to back out now. He wanted him to help with Sam, and it wouldn't be nice to his new friend for him to not even try.    
Al points over to the tank. "That's Sam."

"Your mother said something about a seahorse," Eros smiles at the little thing. "Sam, hunh?" Sam doesn't know who the bigger person is looking at his tank, but he sees Al, and he's smiling, so he's gotta be okay. He swims over to the glass and tries to make a few little bubbles at his friend as a small hello. Eros laughs a little. "He sure likes you for a seahorse," he notes, raising his eyebrow at Al as he notices the ring by the tank.

"He's my best friend." Al grins up at Eros before looking back to Sam and waving at him.   
Honestly the seahorse is just glad he came back. It felt like he was gone for a while so he was starting to get worried.

"Your best friend, hunh?" Eros smirks and looks at Alex's room, seeing the towels and the snacks and two glasses of kool-aid. "I'd like to get to know my son's best friend," he says. He reaches for the ring and drops it into the tank, ready to pull Sam out if he needs to.

At seeing the other person put the ring in the tank, he's a bit apprehensive at first but goes over to it anyway. When his tail hooks around it, he changes back to the human shape and is pulled out by both Al and the other person.

Al hands him the towels to dry himself off and he does, covering himself up, too. Like last time.    


"Uh, Sam, this is my father, Eros," Al says, nervous about what the god will think of him making best friends with a seahorse turned human. Especially when it was his magic he used to do it. "Dad, this is Sam. We became friends earlier today."

Sam looks at him curiously. His father. And Al said he was a demigod. Which means that one of his parents must be a full God. He's a bit nervous at this, but he manages a smile at Eros. "Nice-nice to meet you." He says. Is he supposed to be showing respect or something? Should he be acting differently in the presence of a god?

"You as well," Eros says, helping him dry his hair off. "Something tells me you're not usually this big," he says with a gentle smile. "Is this what you had questions about, Al?" He asks his son. "Your mother told me you had some questions about magic."

Al nods, helping Sam dry off as well. Sam goes to grab one of the cookies that he'd been eyeing while Al was gone, munching on it happily. Human food is definitely so much better.    
"He can't exactly have a normal life as a human." Al starts, grabbing an Oreo for himself too. "And I'd kinda like him to."

"A normal life as a human," Eros muses. "So like a family, and school, and citizenship?" He asks as he also grabs a cookie for himself. "I think I can manage that, if that's what Sam wants as well." He smiles at the young boy. He knows some local couples hoping and looking for a child, knows he can make that work. They would love him. They would have to, Eros wouldn't place him in a home where there's no love. That goes against who he is.

"You can?" Al asks excitedly.    


"Really?" Sam seems a bit confused. He could have a life like Al? With an actual family and everything that comes with it? "Really?" He asks again. That would be amazing. Not that being a seahorse was bad, but it definitely doesn't compare to how his experience as a human has been.

"Of course," Eros nods. "God of love. That includes family love too, of course." It's not his main domain but this is one of his sons he's talking about. He'd like to help if he can. He thinks for a minute before snapping his fingers. "Lee. Sam Lee. The Lee family has been asking for a son for a while now, I'm sure they'd love you," he smiles at the boy.

"Just like that?" He asks, still totally amazed it could be that simple. "What do I do? Are they nearby? Am I going to be able to see Al often still?" Sam is a bit worried now. He doesn't know a lot about human culture and now he suddenly has a family of his own, away from Al?

"Your mother knows the Lees already, actually," Eros says to Al. "Family friends. You'll see each other all the time." He smiles. "They don't live far, and we will of course explain who and what you are to them," Eros tells Sam. "They know me. They just don't know I'm Al's father," he laughs quietly. "We won't tell them that part."

"O-okay.." Sam takes a breath, wiggling his toes a bit to get used to feeling legs again. "Are you okay with this?" He asks Al. It's what he asked his father to do, but if Al happens to not be okay with it, neither will he.

Alex still can't believe how well this is working out. His father really is awesome, even if he doesn't really make a great father figure. "Yeah, yeah I am!" Al smiles wide. "Sam if you wanna have a family and a human life, you can!"    


"It doesn't have to be effective immediately," Eros says in his fatherly tone. "I'm sure Mrs. Caplow would be happy to let you stay here until you get used to being human."

"That-that would probably be best." Sam agrees on. He only just became human a couple hours ago and he feels like he still has a lot to learn before he can function normally. Going from seahorse to human is a really big transition.

"So you mean.. We have to tell mom?" Al frowns. What if she puts her foot down? No more turning your pets into people, Al. That's what she might say.    


"Your mother will be very supportive, Al. She loves you, and she amazingly still trusts me," Eros laughs.    


"Is there a reason she shouldn't..?" Sam asks and Eros looks to him.    


"I lied to her about being human, got her pregnant, told her the truth, and had to leave," he says plainly, almost sadly but not quite. "Most of the mothers of my children hate me once I'm gone, but a few still invite me back."

"Oh.." That sounds like it would be hard to deal with. But Al's lucky his mother was so accepting and he has two fathers. That's pretty cool. Sam's just relieved to be able to have a family of his own. One that's close to Al's too. "So when do we tell her?"

"Well I think dinner's ready," Eros raises his brows at them both. "I'll go ask her to help me set an extra spot at the table while you get dressed and ready? I don't have a lot of time to be here," he says and he sees Alex's mood just drop. He brings his son in for a hug and rubs his back a bit. "I'm not going to leave early, Al. Promised your mother all of dinner and dessert."

Al perks up a bit at hearing that. At least he can have dinner with him. "Thanks." He says, smiling up at him. With that, Eros leaves and Al goes to his closet to pick out some clothes for Sam to wear.    
"He isn't around often?" Sam asks him, getting up and looking at the closet with him, blanket around him.

"Not really," Al says casually, finding a shirt and grabbing some pants he's pretty sure will fit, if they're not too tight. "I haven't seen him since Christmas," he tells him, then remembers he doesn't know what Christmas is. Duh. "So it's been... Like half a year, if that makes sense to you? It's been a while."

Sam nods as Al hands him some clothes. He puts them on how he did before, and he sighs quietly. It's going to take a while to learn about all these human nuances. Like clothes. He doesn't quite understand why they're needed. He doesn't understand a lot of things. Is he really ready to have a family take him in?

"You wanna meet my mom and dad?" Al smiles at him. "And uh, you can ask any of us anything. Seriously, man." He takes him by the wrist and pulls gently, wanting him to follow after him to the dining room.

Sam stumbles a bit at first because legs are seriously weird, but he manages to follow after Al closely. He's rather nervous to meet Al's parents. He's supposed to be a pet seahorse to them.

Alex takes him slowly down the stairs, making sure he doesn't fall. "They're gonna love you. Eros said so," Al reassures him and has him wait so he can introduce him properly.    


"Eros said you have a friend joining us?" His dad asks when he sees Al, curious as to how this all came about.

"Yeah!" Al says with a grin, checking to make sure there's an extra place setting on the table. Sam would definitely want to have some of his mom's lasagna. So much better than kool-aid and cookies.    


"Where are they?" His mother asks. Al turns and waves for Sam to head in.    


"Meet Sam, again." He laughs a bit.

"Sam- isn't that the name of..?" His mother asks and Eros just nods slowly.    


"Uh, hi," Sam says quietly as he comes to the doorframe, face turning red from how awfully nervous he is. "I'm usually not, uh, human, but... Well, this is my second time since this morning having legs and fingers," he laughs a little.

His mom looks to his dad, then to his real dad who just holds his hands up innocently. "That was Al's idea." He insists, having no part of making this possible.    
Al grins again and grabs Sam's hand to reassure him that it's safe and everything is alright.

"Come on in, honey, sit next to Al," his mom says sweetly before turning to her son. "Alex? I'm not mad, but explain."

"Well, um." Al starts, watching Sam as he takes a seat beside him. "You know a couple years ago when I asked Dad what it was like to be anything other than human?" He says, and Sam manages to get the hint to show the ring that's around his thumb.

"Our son had the very intelligent idea of seeing how the ring would affect anything other than a human," Eros says rather proudly. "And he ended up with a new best friend. I think that's pretty amazing, squirt."

Al smiles at Eros, kicking his feet, happy with the praise from him.    


His mom smiles a bit too. Al usually has a bit of trouble making friends because of the whole demigod thing, so she's just happy to see that he has a friend that seems to really like him. "That is pretty amazing." She agrees.

"So Sam," Mr. Caplow starts, curious about all this magic. "New to being human? I can't imagine what it was like to be seahorse and then get thrown into all of this," he smiles at him as they pass around the lasagna and he gets Sam some before handing it to Al.

"It was, um, not all that thrilling." He admits. "Kinda lonely." Sam looks down at the food curiously, then around to everyone else. They're using some kind of silver looking thing to eat, it seems. So he follows suit, trying his best to fit in.

"You're sure you want to have a human life, though?" Al's mom asks seriously. "It's a very very big responsibility, honey. I don't want you to end up making a decision you'll regret."    
Alex helps Sam hold the fork right and quietly explains what it is while Sam thinks about how to respond.

"It's strange." He says, then thanking Al for his help. "But it's a good strange. It's different than swimming around in a tank for the rest of my life. It seems like I'm less insignificant." He digs his fork into the food, trying his best to lead it to his mouth.

"He doesn't gotta live in fear like this," Al points out. "And he gets to have hugs and eat food," he giggles. He digs in to his own food, eagerly stuffing his face with one of his favorite meals.   
"And I'm sure there's nothing better than your mother's cooking," Eros says as he gets his lasagna and begins to eat it. He's always liked her cooking. It was one of the many things he initially found so attractive about her.

Sam goes to respond but finds himself just eating more of the lasagna instead. It's definitely so much better than the food he was used to. Something that's this tasty exists? And he hadn't had it his entire life until now? Humans definitely know how to live properly.

"Eros, how is Sam going to have a normal human life?" Alex's dad questions as they eat. "I'd love to take him in, but we don't have the means right now." If they had an extra room and a little better income, maybe they could fully support a second child. But as it is, they just can't at the moment.

"A family I know has been trying to adopt a child for a while now." Eros says. "You know them too. The Lees."   
Sam continues eating, definitely liking this. He feels indebted to Al for making this possible.

"Oh!" Al's mom lights up at the mention of the Lees. "Oh, they would absolutely adore him! But will they be comfortable with what he is?"    
"But Sam's human," Al says with a slight frown. Why would anyone have a problem with Sam just because he wasn't human before? He's human now, isn't that what matters?

"I'd make sure to tell them what he is. I'm sure they won't mind at all." Eros says. "That way he can still be close to Al and try his hand at a normal human life with a family who has the means to have him around. And in a few years, maybe we can make the human thing permanent, and the seahorse thing the magic in the ring," he offers.

"Ooooh, I like that!!! And Sam's gonna stay with us until he feels like he's used to bein' human, though," Al tells his mom, then corrects himself. "I mean, we'd like him to. If that's okay with you..?"

"That's fine," she says, smiling at Sam. "Anyone who likes my food that much is allowed to stay longer." She laughs, seeing Sam already go to grab seconds.

"It's super yummy!" Sam tells her, kicking his feet happily. "It's one of the best things I've ever had," he giggles. "Not that I've had a lot of different foods. But it's better than Oreos!" He likes Oreos. But this lasagna stuff? Amazing.

She laughs again. "I'm glad you think so. Mrs. Lee will love you." She confirms with a smile. It's a bit strange to know that this is the seahorse that Al picked out the other week, but they both seem happy, so she doesn't mind it all too much.

"Why do you say things like Mrs? Is that a name, too?" Sam asks curiously. "And why do I have to wear clothes?" He might as well get his questions out in the open while there are lots of people to answer them.

"Some people have different titles depending on if they're married." Al's mom starts to explain, helping him with as many questions as she can. The clothes because they're vulnerable to weather, Al's dad then explaining what weather is. It's a lot of work to explain, but it's no trouble to any of them.

"Oh... Okay, then," Sam nods as he processes what he's been told. "Humans are really smart..." He hopes he can be that smart. He certainly couldn't be that smart if he stayed as a seahorse. But when he changed back earlier he remembered everything that had happened with Al, so hopefully he'll still be able to be his old self sometimes. He does love swimming, and apparently he's a cute seahorse, so win win with that one.

"You'll be acting like a normal human in no time!" Al says with a smile, leaning over to hug his friend. He's hopeful. He really wants this to work out and not force him back to being a seahorse. He has a real friend now and he doesn't want to give that up.

"Yeah," Sam smiles and hugs Al back. This is going to be quite the adventure. "No time at all."


End file.
